Former Republican nominee Bob Dole has chosen which candidate he will support in the 2016 election.
“The voters of our country have turned out in record numbers to support Mr. Trump. It is important that their votes be honored and it is time that we support the party’s presumptive nominee, Donald J. Trump,” Dole said in a statement put out by Trump’s campaign on Friday.
In choosing Trump, Dole made the case that the businessman is the Republican Party’s best hope in beating Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in a general election.
“I plan to attend the RNC convention in Cleveland to show my support for our party and our ticket, as I have done my entire life,” the former Senate majority leader added. “We must unite as a party to defeat Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump is our party’s presumptive nominee and our best chance at taking back the White House this November.”
Though Dole previously endorsed Jeb Bush, he has spoken positively of Trump earlier in the primary season. Before Texas Sen. Ted Cruz dropped out of the race this week, Dole said while “nobody likes” Cruz, Trump would “probably work with Congress, because he’s, you know, he’s got the right personality and he’s kind of a deal-maker.”
Dole’s endorsement comes after the two living former Republican presidents George H.W. Bush and his son George W. Bush indicated that they would pass on supporting Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee. Mitt Romney, who like Dole, ran an unsuccessful bid for the White House as the Republican nominee also said this week he would never vote for Trump and that he would not attend the Republican convention in July.
Trump thanked Dole, praising the former chairman of the Republican National Committee as a “wonderful man.”
“I want to thank Senator Bob Dole for his endorsement. He is a wonderful man and it is a great honor to have his support,” Trump said.
